Buckeye Blogger NetworkBumped back a day to cover today’s press access- one more day means even more news, notes, and inanity.
Would look great in the man cave- and Father's Day is coming up...
Buckeye 411
There was no NCAA violation. If you could bold and underline that for me, please.
Done and done, coach.
Time for the hump day look around the world of college sports, with a soundtrack from a reunited legend. We look at playoffs, SEC controversy, NCAA hypocrisy, and other items this week.
There's Your Problem
Buckeye 411
Playoffs?
Initially, this week was supposed to be “POPS”- Pink Out Penn State for Breast Cancer Awareness. While we’ve not heard anything more about that since things changed in Happy Valley, we’re more than glad to give our support. You know… given the circumstances.
This Week's Wallpaper from Kevin Dearth
Buckeye 411
If it’s Friday, it means that it’s time for more bad news.
Last Hurrah?
Devier Posey has been suspended an additional five games by the NCAA for receiving $720 in payment for hours not worked, in addition to “free golf”. Essentially, this means that his senior season will consist of the games against Penn State and Michigan… I’ll bet he’s incredibly glad he chose to abide by his promise to Jim Tressel and return after the Sugar Bowl. Read More
That kind of day
If there was ever a need for a demonstration of Murphy’s Law, Ohio State’s offense against Michigan State might be an apt tool to use. Everything that could go wrong for the Buckeyes did last Saturday when the scarlet and gray had possession of the football.
Nothing went right, and any glimmer of hope that occurred, like the 33 yard pass completion to Chris Fields, was instantly snuffed out before the offense could make anything of it.
With all the on the field issues, the last thing the Buckeye faithful needed were more NCAA issues that crept up at the beginning of this week. With so much unknown, it is time to dive into a little Scarlet and Gray Q&A.
What’s wrong with the offense?
How long have you got? I could write a book this week about what is plaguing the Ohio State offense, but instead I have compiled a list of concerns and ways to fix them.
-Braxton Miller
The first is clearly the Ohio State quarterback spot. Braxton Miller did not look good, and while he didn’t have a whole lot of help, he still did not play well. It is funny how fast fans have turned on the true freshman quarterback. To go from savior to goat in the less than a week had to have left Miller’s head spinning. Read More
Here’s the long and short of it, as far as we know:
During the investigation into former Ohio State Booster Bobby DiGeronimo’s connection with the charity event that saw several Buckeyes suspended earlier this season, the University discovered that there were student athletes who were working for his company, and that this employment hadn’t been cleared through compliance. Here is a link to the University’s self report to the NCAA: NCAA Docs
In reviewing the paperwork, it became apparent that there were instances of hours paid that differed from the hours actually worked. Dan Herron, DeVier Posey, Marcus Hall, Etienne Sabino, and Melvin Fellows were the student athletes in question. The University argued that they were unaware of the additional hours (they did work, and were paid extra), but the numbers, particularly for Posey, don’t support that.
Herron, Posey, and Hall have been suspended for the Nebraska game, with expectations that Posey may be suspended for longer (based on the amount of money involved and the NCAA’s guidelines). These students are currently involved in the reinstatement process with the NCAA, so the actual number of games is still in flux. Fellows has taken a medical hardship, and Sabino has been cleared of these allegations.
DiGeronimo has been dissociated from the University after being a booster for 30 years. You can read the University’s letter here: NCAA Docs
The press release-
Ohio State Update on NCAA Investigation
The Ohio State University Director of Athletics Gene Smith announced today that, as part of the university’s continued investigation with the NCAA to resolve any remaining football compliance issues, violations have been discovered and three football student-athletes have been declared ineligible for the football game this weekend against the University of Nebraska. Those players are Marcus Hall, DeVier Posey and Daniel Herron. The university has submitted a request for reinstatement on behalf of each student-athlete, but it is anticipated that each will sit out at least the game this weekend.
“As we have previously disclosed, the university and the NCAA were not able to finish investigating all of the areas before the university’s August hearing with the NCAA Division I Committee on Infractions,” Smith said. “Upon receiving the necessary records from outside parties and conducting a few additional interviews, the university and the NCAA enforcement staff have jointly determined that violations did occur. The violations that have affected the eligibility of these three players relate to their overpayment while being employed with companies associated with Robert DiGeronimo, an individual who was recently disassociated by the university as a result of several student athletes receiving extra benefits surrounding a charity event in February. The university and the NCAA enforcement staff are in the final stages of the resolution of this case, and I anticipate having further information in that regard in the near future.
In addition, Posey was cited for a secondary violation for a round of golf with Dennis Talbott- greens fees around $100.
Smith stated that this would be considered part of the ongoing investigation, and would push back the NCAA’s final ruling and sanctions. He also said that he was confident that this was not a Failure To Monitor or Lack Of Institutional Control situation that the NCAA has reviewed Ohio State’s processes numerous times, and that these issues are indicative of individual decisions and not systemic issues.
What is most troubling, at least for me, is that some of this “work” occurred during March of 2011… while the NCAA investigation was ongoing, and about the time that Tressel’s knowledge of the memorabilia exchange was brought to light.
We’ll update this as it develops.
Well, that was fast… Here’s what we know (updated as available)
The meeting lasted 3.5 hours for reference, USC’s hearing was 3 days (more programs under investigation)
Ohio State will donate the $338,000 they received from the conference’s award from their participating in the Sugar Bowl to local charities. No word on whether ESPN will forfeit their ad revenue from the game.
Tressel made a brief statement after the meeting-
They were well prepared and will now go about their work in deliberations. Again, I would like to apologize to the Buckeye nation, most especially to the players, staff and fans who remain so dear to me.
I have no further statement at this time.
Much more, and updates after the jump.
Big ball of happiness
As we mentioned earlier, the Ohio State Athletic Department today released their response to the NCAA’s Notice of Allegations, and submitted recommended sanctions for the transgressions.
You can find the documents here: OSU Newsroom NCAA Documents, including the initial NOA.
One thing to be clear of- These are the University’s response to the NCAA’s Notice of Allegations. While that may be obvious, let me also express the converse- These are NOT the university’s response to any other allegations, founded or dis-proven, that have been raised by Sports Illustrated (to an extent), ESPN, The Dispatch, That one guy on the fan-board you subscribe to, or Something that your mom’s mail carrier’s girlfriend’s podiatrist’s veterinarian told them.
The University is adamant in this document that-
Information was reported to the University and the enforcement staff subsequent to the Notice of Allegations that still is being reviewed. This review continues and the University will report any additional violations if necessary in the future.
And given the fact that the University has been quick to respond thus far, there’s little reason to doubt this is true.
I’d encourage readers to look through the entirety of the documentation- if nothing else, it will help prepare you for future conversations here and with friends regarding this matter. They are incredibly thorough.
For the purposes of this article, though, I’m going to be giving you the “bullet points” from these documents, as well as some initial thoughts and commentary (noted in green). First up, let’s take a look at Jim Tressel’s response to the NCAA:
It’s a brief document, and I imagine that there will be more questions for Tressel during the meeting in August with the NCAA, which the University has said he will be attending in spite of his “retirement“.
